


Take a Break

by invincibull



Category: Bull (TV 2016)
Genre: Benny overworks himself, Bull's just trying to help, He needs to stop, M/M, Matchmaker!Chunk, take a break dammit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 15:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11466153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/invincibull/pseuds/invincibull
Summary: Based off of a prompt on my inbox on tumblr"Could you do a Bull/Benny fic where Benny gets sick from overworking himself and Bull notices and tries to help and Benny's like, I'm fine Bull, and Bull's like, no you're sick and yeah"





	Take a Break

**Author's Note:**

> There's so little content in the Bull fandom, so I figured I'd contribute! Feel free to send me more prompts over on my tumblr, trial-analysis-cuties. I'll write just about any ship (including reader inserts), all I ask is that you don't request smut (I'm hella ace)

No matter what Benny said, he was definitely not fine. It didn’t take a genius, or even a psychologist, to see that. By the middle of the trial, the entire team had picked up on their friend’s self-destructive dedication.

It was Marissa who had first noticed Benny had not left the office in days, and while she had said nothing, her mother hen-ness had kicked into overdrive. Benny was so engrossed in the case he didn’t notice the extra food placed on his desk throughout the day, or that problems would be worked out before he even heard about them. It did not, however, go over Bull’s head. He soon noticed his friend getting progressively more disheveled as the days went by. It hurt him to see how the case took it’s toll on the person he secretly cared about the most. He tried subtly coaxing Benny to take a break, but Benny was too stubborn and too focused to listen. The rest of the team figured it out when Bull had reached his breaking point and directly ordered Benny to go home. Benny, being the hothead that he is, decided he wasn’t going, at least not without a fight. The screaming match that had ensued was one that rivaled a bomb in volume and intensity. It had ended with Benny cooped back up in his office, sulking, and Bull taking a walk around the block to cool off. When he arrived back at the office, Chunk was at the entrance waiting for him, two cups of fresh, hot, coffee in his hands. 

“Seems like Benny’s not the only one putting himself under unnecessary stress.” Chunk said as he handed Bull one of the cups, which the latter accepted gratefully. Bull tensed, “Well, it is my reputation that’s riding on this case” he said, so defensive he could hear it as the words left his mouth. Chunk didn’t even say anything, didn’t need to, and just cocked an eyebrow at his boss with a look that said, you sure about that? Bull sighed, knowing Chunk was right. “I just hate to see him work himself to death over this. This is a big case, but nothing worse than anything we’ve handled before. It’s certainly not something he needs to work himself sick over. I worry about him when he gets like this. When will he reach his breaking point, if he keeps it up? I don’t want to lose him.” Bull confided, inadvertently letting that last sentence slip. Bull’s eyes rivaled the size of an owl’s when he realized what he said. Chunk couldn’t help but chuckle, having figured out Bull’s attraction at the beginning. Hell, he and Cable had a bet going as to when their boss would finally confront his own feelings and tell Benny, since this sentiment was clearly mutual. Cable said five years, Chunk said one and a half. 

“Maybe that’s what he needs to hear.” Chunk suggested, aiming to kill two birds with one stone-winning the bet and setting up two people with clear chemistry-unbeknownst to Bull. “You know how Benny is,” Chunk continued, “He puts everyone before himself, and with a case like this, a case he strongly believes in, of course he’ll put everything he’s got and more into making sure our client gets the justice they deserve. He’s aware we care about him, but he doesn’t quite know it. Maybe he just needs someone to really show him he doesn’t have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders, that someone cares about him.” Bull was stunned into a brief moment of silence by his friend’s words, then cautiously, clearly choosing his words carefully, said, “ That may be, but chasing him away won’t help either. He sticks strongly to his morals, and even if he is attracted to me, he wouldn’t have anything more than a friendship with his boss.” Chunk threw Bull his trademark you’re kidding me, right? Look, saying, “If he is attracted to you? Are you telling me you can pick up on who a digital guy is based on just in the span of a short car ride, but can’t tell that the man who basically follows you around like a puppy is head over heels in love with you? I call bull.” Bull cracked a smile at the last sentence, and gave in and told Chunk he’d come clean to Benny later that day. As he left Chunk in his journey to the elevator, he heard his friend call out to him, “Don’t chicken out, I’m holding you to it!”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TAC HQ was silent, aside from the clicking of a keyboard and the distant whirr of a steam mop at the other end of the office. The usually bustling main area was still, with as few lights as possible on and empty, except for Benny. He was preparing for a cross examination on the defense’s key witness. As he worked, his mind wandered to his fight with Bull earlier that day. He felt bad, and knew he shouldn’t have acted so coldly and defiantly towards his boss. Bull was only looking out for him, and Benny was grateful that he had someone to make sure he was okay, but he needed to win this case. Benny was so absorbed by his thoughts, he didn’t hear Bull approaching him until he had sat down next to him. Benny jumped and turned towards his friend, apology spilling out before he could think about it. “I’m so sorry, Jason, I was out of line, it’s just- I’m tired, and i’ve really been putting everything into this case and you’re right, it’s taking a toll on me but I just can’t stop, I just have to get this right, but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you and I’m sorry.” Benny tried to catch his breath as Bull smiled fondly at him. “I know you want to win this, we all do, but you don’t have to carry this weight alone. It’s okay to take a breather, there will always be someone to pick up where you left off. Let me help you with this, then I want you to go home. You’ve barely eaten a thing in weeks and been in the same clothes for days. It hurts me to see you like this.” Benny’s head shot up when Bull confessed his dissolving state of well-being worried him. To hear that the man he couldn’t get out of his head was worried about him, that he actually cared deeply about him, gave him a small glimmer of hope. He nodded slightly after a moment and pushed the file between them, briefly explained the information on the witness and his plan of attack. There had been so much already done that in only ten minutes’ worth of work before Bull had finally convinced Benny that they were finished. As they packed up to head home for the night, Bull placed his hands over his friend’s, took a deep breath, and attempted to fulfill his promise to Chunk. 

“Benny, I want you to know that, well, I love you. Take that as you want, and I get it if you don’t feel the same. I can still be friends with you. I’m sorry to put you in this position, but I had to at least tell you.” Benny gawked at his boss Jason, the man who he had loved from afar for over a year, the man he was convinced had seen him only as close friend, his ex-brother in law. After fully processing Bull’s words, he cracked the biggest, most brilliant smile in his life and all but tackled Bull. The taller of the pair released a breath he hadn’t even realized he was holding. He could faintly hear Benny repeating “I love you” into Bull’s chest. After a solid 5 minutes, Bull sat them up. Benny couldn’t stop smiling, and neither could Bull at the sight of him. Benny pressed their foreheads together and whispered, “You know, my apartment is only a couple blocks away” with a devilish grin.

Jason Bull had never moved faster in his life.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two men walked into court the next day on a cloud. Jason had never seen Benny perform better in all the years he knew him. It was a challenge for Bull to focus on the jurors and what Marissa was saying, it got so bad she even called him out on it towards the end of the day. He just couldn’t stop watching or thinking about his new… lover? Boyfriend? They had been too focused on the present to discuss the future. 

When court was adjourned and the team was back at TAC, rumors had already spread through the other members of the team. Bull didn’t miss the knowing looks from his employees, or Cable slightly sulking at her desk. Bull spotted Chunk preparing their client’s next outfit in his office, and crossed the main office to him. Chunk noticed him as he got close and put a blazer back on its rack, giving his boss, now leaning in the doorframe, his full attention.

“So how much did you win in that bet?”

**Author's Note:**

> Written and edited by me, so any and all mistakes are mine. Feedback appreciated!


End file.
